I was standing in the back of the jam-packed,
magnificent Church of St. Francis Xavier on W. 16th St. in Manhattan
Friday for the funeral and sending off of liberation theology Catholic
priest, poet and anti-war hero Dan Berrigan, when the entire church --
following the choir's lead -- broke into Schiller's "Ode to Joy" from
Beethoven's 9th. Spine-chilling and beautiful. As Dan Berrigan's casket
was carried slowly through the church and out into the waiting hearse,
people broke the protocol and cheered and roared appreciation of a
wonderful and meaningful life. Ohhhhh ....